Living Like This
by Stars to Ami
Summary: Three months ago, Hecate disappeared. And with her, she took the mist. Demigods are more vulnerable without the mist than ever. They're on the run. But now that the Demigod Extinction Programme is formed and actively searching for demigods, even running might not be an option.
1. The Beginning

**Hey guys!**

**This first part is just like "prologue" kind of thing so it's way shorter than my usual chapter. I'm hoping it gets you interested :))**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything (this disclaimer applies for all chapters)**

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Fire.

Red, orange, yellow swirls erupted in front of the man standing on the hill.

A dragon flew overhead and demigods cried out for it. Winged horses escaped the burning stables and the demigods begged them to save themselves.

The man standing on the hill watched as the demigod safe haven, Camp Half Blood, burned to the ground. He leaned on a the tree the dragon had been sleeping on seconds earlier as his men swarmed the camp. Silently and unyielding, he removed a cigarette from his pocket. The man standing on the hill didn't react to the yells of hatred from the demigods or their defence system fighting back. He knew the demigods would fall because he had seen it happen in the fire.

"Sir," a voice called out from behind him. It belonged to one of his many battle strategists who joined him on the mission. "The demigods are escaping into the woods and through the ocean. I'm not sure if we can follow them."

The man standing on the hill turned. His teeth tightened against the cigarette balanced in his mouth. "We got through into the camp, did we not? We'll find away to get the escapees as well. It's a just a little bump on the road. How many demigods have we caught?"

"Many. I can't round the exact number until the end, though. There are many who are either escaping from our claws and many getting caught at the same time."

The man standing on the hill turned back around to see the chaos at the demigod camp. Smoke curled in the air and danced past him like northern lights. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and a long puff joined the smoke running past him. It wasn't that he was happy seeing their camp burn. The man standing on the hill was only doing his job like everyone else in this world. His job was to hunt the demigods and hunt the demigods he would do. He put the cigarette back in his mouth.

Hunt the demigods he would do.


	2. Come Back

**ONE MONTH AGO**

Chapter One

Come Back

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It didn't make sense. Mortals were never grateful for anything. Percy stared at the poster in front of him: 'Gods and Demigods are real! Greek Mythology is real! Bow down, may we thank them for keeping us safe!' It was messy with crayons and paint strewn around the edges lazily.

Percy swallowed, pulling at his fingers.

Three months ago, Hecate disappeared.

At first, she was barely missed. Only a few demigods felt her departure. Hecate's children were in a daze trying to find what happened to their mother. It wasn't that their powers disappeared. It felt like a organ in their body had been plucked out and they were walking disjointed.

Hazel expressed the same feeling. She had been sitting on a rock on the beach when she told Percy about it. In the breeze, her hair whipped around her face and her yellow summer dress flapped. Percy had always seen Hazel as a child as compared to how he saw the rest of the seven. She was his little sister, his cousin. But in that moment, Hazel seemed far more mature than anyone else he knew as she sat with a hand hovering over where her heart was.

Three months ago, along with Hecate's disappearance, the mist lifted.

Chiron was in an absolute flurry. Olympus closed itself to demigods like it during the Great War against Gaea.

Two months ago, the morals figured out what was happening.

It was amazing at first. They kept demigods on a pedestal and regarded them as heroes. People wrote novels on the demigods. Teachers taught their students about the great deeds of Greek heroes. Most of the mortals were kept in the dark about what would've been called "modern mythology". They knew nothing of the two wars Percy was in. All the mortals knew was the existence of demigods and gods and the stories written about Heracles and Jason of the original ship Argo.

But the knowledge of their existence became a downfall.

Most demigods who lived with their mortal families kept their identities as demigods hidden just like Percy was doing. He was attending Goode High School for his senior year and so far, he had been incredibly lucky. Since the war with Gaea, the number of monsters attacking him fell and even the occasional hellhound attacked him places hidden from mortals.

Most of the other demigods of major Olympians had already retreated back to Camp Half Blood. They couldn't deal with the monsters and mortals watching them. It was only a matter of time until Percy would have to leave home and go back to camp as well.

"Take the poster down," a familiar voice said from behind Percy.

Turning around, Percy saw his friend Austin who was on the swim team with him. "Why is it even up in the first place?"

Austin raised an eyebrow. His light blonde hair glittered in the sunlight. They were standing in the courtyard of the school ready to go home for the weekend. Percy knew Annabeth was at home with Sally and from what he heard, cookies were part of the plan as well.

Austin ripped the poster off the wall. "Hybrids. They're dangerous." He inspected the half torn poster. "Besides, this poster is really old anyway."

Austin wasn't the only one who didn't enjoy the company of demigods. In fact, it was the minority who put demigods up higher than where they were. Most mortals wanted demigods to leave. Percy had to admit, Austin was right in a sense. It was the demigods who brought monsters to the mortals, but then again, demigods kept them safe from the Titans who wanted to wipe out all life of all the Olympians and mortals.

Throwing Austin a quick bye, Percy climbed into Paul's car. He leaned out of the window, waiting for the English teacher to show up. He was jittering in excitement of seeing Annabeth again for the first time in two months. Simultaneously, during these past three months, he'd developed a fear of being anywhere outside home. What if a monster of god showed up while he was in front of all these mortals?

Annabeth pushed into his mind again and Percy forgot about his worries. She was boarding at a private, girl's school nearby. While she often complained about how her dyslexia was causing issues with her relationship with teachers, Annabeth was one of the top students for the architecture course she enrolled there for. She had restarted designing Olympus after the war with Gaea but since Olympus hadn't opened for the past three months, Annabeth wasn't sure what to do with her finished designs.

"Percy," Paul called out.

Percy lifted his head. He clicked the seat belt into place as his stepdad entered the car and started the engine.

"No swim practice today?"

"No," Percy shrugged. "Coach said he'd let us off today since we won the last meet."

Paul grinned. "You plummeted those competitors. It could be helpful looking into a scholarship in swimming, Percy. University applications are far too close for you not to think about it."

"New Rome," Percy said. "I'm going there with Annabeth. I can swim all I want there."

"I'm talking Olympics level swimming."

Percy sighed. "I'm not sure right now. That would be a dream come true but I can't. Not right now. Everything with the mist and mortals being able to see monsters needs to end first. Till then, it's safer for me to stay in places I know mortals can't enter."

They drove the rest of the way to the apartment in silence. Percy shouldered his bag and hurried to the front door. Paul laughed from behind as Percy bouldered through the door. Instead of seeing Annabeth, Percy noticed a different blond sitting on his couch and accepting a glass of orange juice from his mother.

Sally smiled at Percy, kissing him on his forehead. She was glowing in her pregnancy with the little sister Percy was so excited to meet. "I'll be around, Percy."

"Annabeth?"

"She isn't here yet from school."

Percy turned his attention to the tall demigod on his couch. "Jason. What brings you here? I thought you were visiting Camp Jupiter this weekend."

"Chiron thought it would be safer if I stayed at Camp Half Blood," Jason said. He adjusted himself on the couch as Percy settled next to him. Jason passed him a free glass and the pitcher of orange juice. "I had to talk to you."

"About?"

"The mist."

Percy pursed his lips. He took a swig of the juice and the liquid fell down his throat in irregular waves. "I know what this is about. Chiron gave me a choice and I chose to stay here with my mom and Paul. I have a little sister on the way and I want to be there to greet her."

"You need to come back to camp," Jason said. "Chiron isn't giving you a choice anymore. He sent me here to bring both you and Annabeth back. And I'm not the only one. The Hunters of Artemis gave a notice that they were arriving to Camp Half Blood soon. Grover has been dispatching both demigods and satyrs like mad to rescue as many unknown demigods as possible."

"Why now?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. " Haven't you heard? Percy…us demigods are more revealed than ever. There's an organisation being put together to get rid of us."

Percy folded his legs. A bitter, metallic taste filled his mouth and he tore his gaze away from Jason and glared at his orange juice instead. He had been afraid it was going to come to this for weeks now. Where was Hecate? Didn't she know the turmoil she left the demigods in? The gods can lock themselves up in Olympus. The titans rot in Tartarus. It's the demigods who are vulnerable.

"The organisation was actually announced this morning," Jason said. He dug through his pocket to produce a piece of paper. "This is a print out of their website. Malcolm from the Athena cabin translated it in Ancient Greek."

Percy took it from Jason and unfolded it. The colors of the website were dull and the writing looked like it was done in the nick of time. Malcolm was one of the best at Ancient Greek in the camp but he had made several mistakes in the writing with lines that stopped halfway through the character it was creating. Percy didn't blame Malcolm. He was getting chills reading the text.

"They claim they can wipe out all demigods, gods, and Titans?"

"As if that's possible, but yes," Jason said snorting. "Listen, they're focusing only on demigods first because they think it's easier. DEP, or the Demigod Extinction Program, is going to be hunting all of us down. As soon as they get the equipment."

"So? They're just mortals."

Jason shook his head, "But we are half mortal, too. We're lucky we had three months where they thought we were the heroes. We've rescued so many demigods in those three months. But there are still more out there we just don't know about."

"Chiron wants all demigods to retreat to the two camps and stay there until all this has died down. Mortals still can't enter the camps."

Percy sighed. He didn't want to leave his mother, but he knew the situation. "Yeah, I'll come. I've got a week until my school is off for term break. If Chiron can wait till I finish this week, it'll be good. I need to talk to Annabeth and then I'll pack. I'll be at camp soon."

"Good," Jason said. He stood. "I have to go now. There are a few more demigods living with their families I need to go get the word to. Besides, the longer I stay here, the more of a beacon it is for monsters. Two powerful demigods in one room."

Percy smirked. "Rematch. Back at camp."

Jason threw his head back and laughed. "I hope you the mortals don't eat you alive in this week before we meet again."

*** oOo ***

Monday came around the corner faster than Percy would've liked. He lugged his day through his classes. His rotten luck got his friends talking about the DEP during lunchtime. He sat with Austin when they launched into the conversation. To his absolute demise, every single one of his five friends on the table agreed with Austin's mindset about demigods. Percy could only nod along as his friends went on insulting his entire lineage. He couldn't do anything.

"My younger sister really wants to meet a demigod," Austin wrinkled his nose. "I don't know how to tell her those hybrids will kill her the second she sees one."

"Run," another friend snorted. "Run like the wind."

Austin's girlfriend hummed. She was by far the most calm of the group. "I think it's kind of cool they can fight with swords and use bows. One day, I'd really like to try that. But of course, it'd be better if it wasn't… demigods holding those weapons."

"Geez," Austin slung his arm around his girlfriend, "I'll take you to the archery range anytime if that's what you want."

Percy kept his mouth shut. Why should he stick up for the gods? They left demigods to fend for themselves while they were happily locked away in Olympus. Percy hadn't tried to contact Poseidon since the last Great War came to an end. Poseidon was in fact one the gods who genuinely cared about his demigod children and he could be a help even though the others aren't.

Somehow, Percy pulled through the rest of the day and made it to his swim practice after school.

The changing rooms were bustling with swimmers. The last time they were swimming together was the meet last week in which they won by a land slide. His teammates thumped Percy's back as they past and he grinned in response to their praise. He entered the swimming pool, excited to feel but of course something had to happen.

It wasn't a monster attack, thank the Gods. But it left Percy nostalgic for a hellhound.

It happened when Percy was just about to leave the pool. He was changed out of his swim trunks and ready to meet Annabeth out in front when his coach beckoned him over to his office. Percy tightened his grip on his bag over his shoulder and gingerly made his way to where his coach stood. "You wanted to see me?"

The coach nodded. "Yes, sit down."

Percy did as he was told.

"A fellow teammate has… alerted me of a suspicion. He believes you may be half human and half god."

Percy's heart dropped to his feet. "Why would he think that?"

"In one of our practices, I actually remember it very well, you were swimming at an abnormally high speed. I didn't time you during that run, but I'm sure you would have beat the world record, so admittedly, I did believe your teammate at first." He went on without letting Percy answer. "The government and DEP have sent us strict rules to follow. When there's a slightest hint that a student may perhaps be a demigod, it must be investigated."

Percy licked his dry lips. He _couldn't _be discovered. He was going to back to camp in less than a week now.

The coach folded his hands on his lap. "I'm sorry, Percy, I didn't have a choice; I have alerted the high school office, and they have taken the necessary steps. Your presence is immediately requested in the main office."

"Okay, thank you." He forced the bile inching up his throat to drop back into his stomach.

"I know it's all alright," the coach said. "It's just a misunderstanding and everything will be sorted out. You're a good kid, Jackson. I want to see you holding a gold medal in the Olympics."

Percy took a deep breath and hurried towards the high school office. He had to play by their rules till he got to camp. Pushing open the door, he let himself into the office. He hoped Annabeth would be already waiting for him outside.

The woman at the front desk looked up and said, "Percy Jackson?"

"Yes?"

She pointed to the first meeting room in the hallway leading deeper into the office. "You are needed in there."

"Thanks," Percy said. He was greeted by two people, a bald person with glasses wearing a suit with a laptop in front of him and his high school principal.

The principal gave him a tight smile. "Percy, hello. This is Ned, he will be talking to you."

Percy nodded greeting Ned. The principal left the room leaving Percy with Ned.

Ned pointed to a chair across from him, "Sit. Do you know why you are here?"

"Yes," Percy said. "I do. I just wanted to say, I'm not what I have been accused to be."

Ned raised an eyebrow. "I hope you speak the truth for both of our sakes. It's too much paperwork for me and a life of hell for you." He turned to his laptop, "I just want to ask you some simple questions. You think you can answer them for me?"

"Yeah."

"I already have your school records. It seems like you aren't too much of a top scorer."

"Uh… no, not really."

"Dyslexia," Ned said, reading whatever document was on his laptop screen. "ADHD. Expelled from many schools, accused for vandalism several times." Sighing, Ned pushed away his laptop to look Percy in the eyes.

"These are all the signs of a demigod, Percy. Care to explain any of them? Is there anything you think I need to know about your school life?"

Open-mouthed, Percy stared for a second before closing it like a fish out of the water. "Sir, with all due respect, most of the things I have been accused for never ended up proving me guilty. I happened to have a troubled childhood which is why I had so many expulsions."

Ned narrowed his eyes before sliding his laptop back in front of him. "Family life. Tell me about your mother and father. What I have is that your mother is Sally Jackson. Your stepfather, Paul Blofis. You earlier stepfather was Gabe Ugliano. Your biological father… there are no records of your birth father. Do you remember him?"

"No," Percy lied, acting saddened. "My mother told me it was a summer fling and that they didn't have the time to really get to know each other. That's why there's no record of him."

"What do you usually do after school or before?"

"Swim practice usually. I go home and do my homework, video games, hanging out with my friends sometimes."

"Name your closest friends."

Percy looked up briefly from playing with his fingers before robotically replying with the names of his three mortal friends at school. He left Annabeth's name out of it.

"Thank you," Ned said and the color of the light emitted from the screen changed to blue. "I am now accessing their files."

Percy went silent as Ned scanned through his friends files. There was nothing from his friends that would give him away, he reassured himself, nothing could give him away. Except for the ADHD. And the dyslexia. And the lack of biological father evidence.

Dammit.

"I'm sorry. With the answers I have gotten from you, I'm afraid I have to go with the process because there is a too big of a risk that you might be a demigod without even knowing it since you seem quite oblivious."

"So what's going to happen to me now? I don't want to be a demigod."

"Nothing to worry about, son, this will all be over soon. A private investigator will be looking into your situation and I'm sure all of the signs I'm seeing right now are a coincidence. I'm going to send a letter to your parents and today you will receive a notice from the DEP that forbids you from leaving city limits unless given allowance by someone in position of authority."

Percy rose from his seat, thanking Ned drily before slinging his bag over the shoulder and leaving the office. He wiped his palms on his jeans; the more sweat he got rid off, the more would appear on his skin. A few steps later, he broke out of the Goode High School's main entrance and into the parking lot where a familiar head turned to smile at him from where she was waiting for him by his car.

"You're late," Annabeth told him. "What held you up?"

Percy's voice fluctuated in volume. "I have a private investigator on my tail. Someone from the swim team told the school that they think I'm a demigod and now I can't leave the city until they're done with their investigation."

"Oh Hades."

"Are we doing the right thing? Should we go to camp earlier?"

Annabeth hugged herself. "By right, we should already be at camp. We're stretching it out being here for so long. A monster could attack us anytime and the mortals will know exactly who we are."

Percy pulled at a curl falling near his hand. Annabeth had been growing her hair out after the Great War and he was loving the way her curls cascaded down to mid-back. "How about we go out today for ice cream. Let's forget about this for now and pray a monster doesn't attack us. I want some time with you to feel normal before we go back to camp."

"Do you want to leave it to our luck? I thought we established that our luck doesn't work."

Percy grinned. "Hey, I'm willing to risk it for blue ice cream."

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**Hey guys! I'm reposting this story as I took it down a few years ago and a lot of people were asking me to put it back up and finish it. So here I am, putting it back up and this time am going to finish it! I hope you liked that. I edited it a bit from what it was before.**

**Review, Favourite, and Follow!**

**~Stars to Ami**


	3. He Didn't Tell Us

**I used an offical pjo site for Hades cabin description**

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Chapter Two

He Didn't Tell Us

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That night, dinner was painful. Sally was clearly distraught and it was obvious in the way she bit her lip and barely touched the meal on the table.

"Mom," Percy said. "You need to eat." He had licked his own plate clean and even taken a second helping.

Sally nodded numbly. She pierced a pea and chewed on it slowly. "I know. I'm just worried. For the first time, the demigod world was at peace. And now you have to deal with mortals? I'm sorry it didn't work out better."

"Don't be," Percy said. He leaned over the table to kiss his mother on the forehead. "We're half-god. We can deal with a bunch of maniac mortals." He stood to leave his plate in the kitchen sink. Passing by the dining table, his throat closed. Paul stood over his mother who Percy knew was on the verge of breaking down.

The DEP notice form sat on Percy's desk, haunting him. Sally and Paul received the notice when Percy was still out with Annabeth. Without Percy there to explain what happened, his mother's entire world went upside down seeing the words _demigod _and _investigation _on the same page. Percy wondered what it was like for someone else to receive the note, one who didn't know they were a demigod. They'd spend hours on their bed, hating themselves. Because everyone knew what the DEP means when they said the demigod would have to be taken away. They meant the death penalty.

A creak came from behind Percy and he spun around, hand in pocket where Riptide was. Sally appeared in the doorway. Her eyes were bloodshot. "Percy."

"You know you have nothing to worry about, right Mom?" Percy reassured her. He hugged his mother tightly. "The mortals don't know what they're dealing with. I know you're terrified but hold on. It's only a week."

"You need to go back to camp," Sally told him. "Chiron is right. You need to leave this place."

"Mom? I thought you wanted me to finish the term."

"Not anymore. I want you safe and alive more than graduating high school and dead."

Percy toed the ground with a socked foot. "I can't. Not now. They've sent you a notice and there's a private investigator after me. If I leave now, it'll confirm their suspicions that I'm a demigod and they'll come after you. At least if I go when term break starts, it'll be less suspicious."

He stood by his words to stay the week before heading for camp. After getting Paul's help to finish off the rest of his English homework (more like Percy lounged on the couch while Paul did the work for him), Percy retired to bed. The moonlight creeping through the gap in his curtains and the wall made swirling shadows on the ground and he traced them in the air with a finger. Sleep wasn't coming to him as easily as he wanted it to.

Percy had been noticing this more than a couple times since he and Annabeth got out of Tartarus. The PTSD had lasted for a week or so afterwards but once the panic attacks were under control, sleep was the biggest issue. It wouldn't come to him. He'd thrash all night in bed and count sheep to a million, yet sleep was nowhere nearby. It was only with Annabeth that he could fall asleep like normal. Otherwise, it was a hit-or-miss game.

This particular night, he couldn't sleep.

Percy stripped the blankets off of him and shuddered at the air hitting his bare chest. He slumped onto his desk chair, rubbing a hand over his face and breathing out forcefully in apprehension.

He scanned the DEP notice in front of him for the hundredth time since Paul handed it to him. The letter was typed with the DEP symbol top middle. The symbol was two snakes curling around a greek eta sign. A laurel surrounded the snakes. Percy found it highly ironic: Here the DEP associates were, creating their symbols with Greek alphabet and cultural icons while claiming that the Olympians were dangerous and had to be wiped out.

In a split decision, Percy rose from his chair and made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the the faucet and created a mist from the water spilling into the basin. Plucking a drachma from the stash he kept on his desk, Percy threw it into the mist. "Nico Di Angelo… at Camp Half-Blood?"

Nico's sleeping image appeared in the mist. He was in the Hades cabin at Camp Half-Blood. The walls were a deep grey and black and a small shine for Hades at the back shined like a glow-in-the-dark toy. The Hades cabin was window less with mahogany bed frames shaped like coffins and velvet, blood red pillows.

It gave Percy the creeps and he refused to enter it after the Stolls rented it from Nico for a Halloween Hunted House. Nico had been more than happy with his newfound stash of drachmas, six-pack cokes, and new Mythomagic expansion pack. The Stolls, on the other hand, were pleased to see the number of campers fainting inside the cabin.

Nico shifted in his sleep. He was paler than usual if that was possible to say.

"Nico."

"Mmmm."

"_Nico_."

"Will?"

Percy yelled out Nico's name, freezing to hear whether he woke his mother or Paul up. Nico sat up abruptly and cried out in surprise when he saw Percy's face in the mist.

"Dude," Nico coughed. He pulled his covers up to his chin. "It's the middle of the night. What are you doing?"

Percy shrugged. "I wanted to know how things were back at camp."

"Are you serious?" Nico muttered. "That's what you woke me up for?"

"So… how are things back at camp?"

Nico sent him a death glare to rival Annabeth's. "Peachy."

Percy ignored the sarcasm and instead launched into the whole story of a private investigator and his increasing worry about a monster attack in front of mortals. "The last monster attack was two weeks ago in an alley that no one goes to and the one before that monster, it was in my school's parking lot at night when no one else was there. I bet I'm not getting lucky a third time."

"Come back to camp. We've got a dozen people returning every day. Our campers have gone from twenty-three people after summer ended to sixty-two."

Percy hummed. "Are the Hunters of Artemis there?"

"Arriving on Thursday. They usually don't give a notice but I guess this particular situation called for it." Nico yawned, scratching the back of his neck. "Why are you calling me for this in the middle of the night?"

"I couldn't sleep," Percy admitted. "I'm sorry. I've been arguing with my mom and Paul all night about going back to camp but with the notice from the DEP, I'll leave _them _in danger by leaving them now."

Nico played with the edge of the blanket. "Honestly, I don't know what to say. But if you're worried about getting caught outside with a monster and mortals are everywhere, I can help you."

"How?"

Nico sighed. "Gods, you're irritating. Iris message me if you fall into trouble and I'll shadow travel to you immediately. I'm at camp anyway so there's no mortals around for that."

Percy grinned. "You're the best cousin ever."

"I'll be sure to tell Jason that in the morning."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Percy trudged through the rest of week, praying that a monster would stay out of his wits. Everyday he came home and collapsed on the couch in relief. He hadn't seen Annabeth since Monday either. With a private investigator on his tail, neither Annabeth or Percy wanted Annabeth to get caught in the line. Besides, the less they were together, the less of a beacon they were to monsters.

Thursday morning, Percy was called into one of the DEP quarters for testing. Sally cried while making him pancakes and he hugged her tightly while rubbing her back to reassure her. Part of him was confused as to why she was suddenly so broken but then he'd glance at her eight-month pregnant belly and continue patting her back.

A man in a white suit called Percy into one of the testing rooms and had him lay down on a hospital bed shirtless. He was hesitant to remove his shirt but most of the scars were thin white lines now. There was one pink, jagged scar going from his shoulder to his hip and the man raised an eyebrow at it but didn't say anything.

The session went swimmingly. Percy answered the same questions Ned asked him the Monday before. And then they threw in a few extra questions as well. He almost laughed in the mortals' faces. This was child's play to Percy.

They took a blood test, though, so it was a good thing he didn't laugh outright.

Was demigod blood any different to mortal blood?

Hades, he failed chemistry in his freshman year.

The man who took his blood test tapped the vial. "You're a peculiar one, Percy Jackson."

Percy only yawned. "Am I done?"

"No."

"What else could there be for me to do?"

The man gave him a stink eye. "Signing papers. You're eighteen which means your parents don't have to be involved in the signatures but we need to schedule your next appointment with us. We will contact you if this blood test comes out to be… abnormal."

"What then?"

"The isolation chamber, of course." The man's lip curled in amusement at the face Percy pulled.

The receptionist at the front desk was far nicer. She patted Percy's hand with a wide smile. "Remember, you're to stay within city limits. Don't worry, boy, everything will be just fine."

Most of the DEP staff members were like that. They all told him to keep his head high because according to them, everything would just turn out jolly. He understood it was their way of reassuring him: after all, they must get a lot of nervous testers who probably weren't demigods.

Percy wondered if he could still leave the city with their rule but then he remembered the newspaper articles and countless hours of news reporters talking about the high security around the state's borders. Identification papers were suddenly required (only for some individuals apparently, how did they decide who?) to cross the Brooklyn Bridge and it was making the traffic horrendous. More people were opting to walk twenty miles to work rather than take a car.

He backed out of the DEP building and scowled at it from outside. The building was well-maintained with tiled flooring on the inside and pure white cement was brand new. Who knew how many demigods the DEP had already caught? How many of them were falsely accused mortals?

It was near twelve when Percy pulled up at his school's parking lot. Paul gave him an irritating lecture on how Percy was still expected to come to school after the visit to the DEP. And of course he had to have chemistry first thing.

He strolled through the hallway and pushed open the lab door. Students were all in pairs with experiments and chemicals bubbling on their tables. A blue drop flew out from a nearby test tube and landed in front of Percy.

"Mr. Jackson," the teacher started.

"— I have a note," Percy interrupted. "I was excused by the school itself."

The teacher nodded. "Join any pair."

Percy dropped his bag near a vacant desk and moved to join his friends. Austin's girlfriend, Jordan, handed him a strawberry.

"Go wash that," Jordan told him. "Simon accidentally dipped it in the wrong solution."

Simon blushed. "I'm color blind, okay."

"This is why you're getting straight C's in chemistry," Percy said. He swung the strawberry in the air. "Now watch me with beady eyes, Simon, because I'm about to show you how it's done."

"You're getting C's too. There's distilled water over there to clean the strawberry with, doofus," Jordan said. She grabbed Percy's wrist when he tried dipping it into the pretty, blue solution on the desk. "And that's copper solution. You're supposed to be dipping it in calcium carbonate."

"I'm sorry, the what?"

Jordan rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you passed your last test."

"My mom and genius girlfriend," Percy said, pleased.

The sound of glass shattering screeched through the room and Percy ducked, pulling both Jordan and Simon down with him. His classmates screamed around him and scattered to a corner as the sound of growls filled the air. Vials of chemicals knocked themselves off the desks and the chemistry teacher cried out for someone to grab a metal near the back of the room before it mixed with everything else and blew up.

Percy refused to turn around. He dropped to his knees and crawled to where the rest of the class of huddling. He rose, spinning around to see a hellhound inching its way closer to him. Its long, sharp teeth were bared and saliva dripped off them and onto the floor where it sizzled on chemical spills. Percy desperately searched for the exits but the hellhound was between them and the door while a single window sat behind them. Window. They can get out from the window.

"Oh my gods," Jordan hissed next to him. She was holding onto his arm so tight Percy could feel her nails digging into his skin. "I love you, Percy. I love you, Simon. Someone tell Austin I only like-like him if I'm too dead to tell himself myself."

Someone else has a similar idea as Percy and they flung open the window. Cold hair blows his hair as Percy heard the guy complaining that it was way too high to jump out of. The hellhound let out another low growl from its throat and Jordan grabbed Simon to hug as well.

The hellhound launched itself off its back legs and Percy dived to the ground. He skittered onto a desk, ignoring the shouts of horror undulating through his classmates. Percy whipped out Riptide and spun it in a deadly arc but the hellhound easily dodged it.

"You're a demigod!"

The hellhound jumped onto the desk after him and Percy hopped onto a nearby chair. The hound's teeth tore through his skin and he gasped, throwing himself backwards and into another cluster of chemical vials. The chemicals fell away from him, thank the Gods, but they fell into the same metals the teacher was screaming about seconds earlier.

The classroom blew up.

Percy couldn't see straight but he managed to stab the hellhound in its eye and it fell into dust. His neck burned with the heat radiating behind him and his vision was tinted red. He capped Riptide, jumping away from the fire raging and towards where his classmates stood frozen. Jordan was on kneeling on the ground, her expression a mixture between pure terror and fascination.

"Get out of here," Percy yelled at them. "The fire is spreading."

Simon cracked. "We can't! The door!"

Percy glanced behind him from where he was perched on a desk. The swirl of orange, red, and yellow was imprinted in his mind. The door was already engulfed by the fire and the chemicals spilt on the ground only fed it more energy. He gritted his teeth, concentrating on the bathrooms down the hall.

Someone from the class broke out of the group huddling in the corner. Their eyes were wild with hatred but before they could say anything, water burst through the burnt door and lapped up the fire until there was nothing but a ash-black classroom and a pool of water flowing through the room. His gut loosened and he dropped his control on the water.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Percy could hear the water dripping from the ceiling and surging past their ankles on the floor. His heart was beating a million miles an hour and he could barely catch his breath. Someone choked back a sob. Another whispered a friend to call the police.

"Percy," Jordan muttered. She rose to her feet, hands clamped over her mouth. "What have you done?"

Alarm bells blared through the rest of the school. Percy knew it was only a matter of time before the DEP barged into the room and took him captive. Already, he could see phones out among his classmates and a few were already dialling in the three dreaded numbers.

He scanned the destroyed classroom. Nothing remained intact where the chemical explosion took place.

"Percy," Jordan cried out again. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Percy swung onto the desk closest to where his classmates sat in front of the window. He grabbed hold of nearby shelf and shook off someone who grabbed his foot.

"Percy," Jordan yelled out. "What are you?"

"Demigod," Percy murmured.

And with that, he swung out the window.

* * *

**That was fun to write lol. I updated a day earlier than I promised! I don't think I made it 3k words but I did it to 2.9k words so hey, that's close enough! Thank you to everyone supporting this story so far :) **

**As for the next update, give me like a week? to finish it off.**

**Review, Favourite, and Follow!**

**(Seriously I love reviews... they motivate me to write more!) Also, do let me know if you have any feedback/ideas/whatever. **

**~Stars to Ami**


	4. Of Questions and Worries

Chapter Three

Of Questions and Worries

* * *

Annabeth tightened her grip on the pencil she held, reading the essay question for her homework laid out in front of her.

_What does being human mean to you?_

Well, first off, she wasn't fully human. But of course her mortal teachers couldn't know that. Annabeth leaned back into her seat, tapping the pencil on her leg.

Being human was being selfish. Disloyal. Cruel. There were far more similarities between the gods, titans, and humans than there were with demigods. Demigods were nothing like humans, even if they may have been in the wrong at some point in their life. Ethan Nakamura. Could he be called disloyal? No. He gave his eye to Nemesis. Luke Castellan. Could he be called selfish? No. He saved Annabeth and the rest of Olympus. Being human was a misleading deception while demigods were always supportive of their companions. Humans were all rotten from the inside.

Were they? Sally Jackson was miles away from rotten.

Annabeth put her pencil on the paper, scribbling down her ideas. _Human nature calls for coldness and manipulation. But equally, sometimes people reject their evolutionary traits to follow a more moral path._

Crap. It was absolute crap. Annabeth threw her pencil in the air in frustration and flipped over her paper. Why did she have to attend English classes for an architecture course? Philosophy had never come easy to her, even if dyslexia wasn't in the picture. Some children of Athena were good with that sort of approach but Annabeth was all about numbers, facts, and clean shapes.

Annabeth yawned, glancing at the clock. It was near eleven in the night and the loud shouts coming from down the hall told her that the party some girls in her dorm had arranged was still on. Teachers were never present after five in the afternoon and the boarding house supervisors loved parties just as much as the boarders did. Once in a while, the boarders got a free pass for a night of dance and music.

The entire boarding house would be invited to the parties, they weren't a very big school, but Annabeth never went. She was content in her dorm and busied herself with homework. It was a Thursday night. How in the world were the boarding supervisors okay with this party?

The music switched off and Annabeth sighed at the loud whoops of confusion. The sounds were muffled through the walls but the party was loud enough that she heard it several rooms down. She slipped off her desk chair, stretching and falling onto her bed.

Annabeth shared her room with three other girls. Two of them were taking the economics college preparatory course while one was taking theatre. She wasn't particularly close to the girls but they were sweet in their own way. Their dorm was as big as Cabin 6 back in camp but more spacious. There were four beds each with their respective cupboards, bedside tables, and drawers all pushed against the walls while they shared a connecting bathroom.

The doorknob jiggled and Annabeth shot up. She watched it fully turn and one of her roommates barged in with a crazy look in her eye. Her roommate, Jessica, looked awfully similar to Piper but her cheekbones were far more accentuated. Annabeth liked Piper's eyes better but both Jessica and Piper shared the choppy, brown hair.

"Annabeth," Jessica squeaked. "You haven't seen the news have you?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "No?"

"They finally caught a demigod in the act," Jessica said. She darted to her own bed and threw open her laptop. "Everyone is freaking out. The party actually stopped halfway through when that annoying redhead barged into the room with the news on her phone."

"What?" The air knocked out of Annabeth. "They found a demigod?"

"The demigod got away," Jessica said. "Wait, let me show you. I think the video was posted on Youtube. You know how some people were going on and on about how demigods weren't all that bad? This video just slammed all of those pro-demigods. Shit, why is this taking so long to load?"

Annabeth slipped off her bed. She hoped Jessica couldn't hear how fast her heart was beating. She forced a laugh to help her facade. "You're drunk, Jessica."

Jessica hiccuped and blushed. "Tipsy, not drunk."

The door slammed open and Annabeth's two other roommates strolled in. They saw Jessica and Annabeth and hurried to join them on the ground, talking excitedly among each other.

Jessica cursed at her laptop. "There are so many people watching the video, it isn't loading."

"I've watched the video like ten times," one of Annabeth's other roommates, Kayla, chirped. She seemed awfully amused by the whole situation. "It's so cool. It's literally magic. I wish I was a child of the gods."

"I mean, they have it pretty bad," Annabeth said. "Most of us… normal humans hate them. They're probably in hiding right now."

The fourth roommate, Chloe, pipped up. "Yeah, I get why they wouldn't reveal themselves. The DEP is going pretty hard trying to sniff them out. But let's be honest: it's safer without demigods. They bring all these monsters with them. Sure, they get cool powers but they aren't doing it to help anyone. Their powers are more of a danger than something that would help us."

Annabeth frowned. "You don't know that."

"Watch the video," Chloe said. She leaned forward to put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You'll be surprised."

Jessica screeched in excitement when the video finally loaded. Annabeth held her breath. Whoever took the video was shaking uncontrollably. There was a splurge of colors and Annabeth watched, horrified, as a fire erupted wherever the video was taken. The recorder swung their camera around the room and she vaguely recognised it as a classroom.

"Look," Jessica said. She pointed at a figure in the video, crouched on the ground. "There's the demigod."

Annabeth wanted to throw up. Her entire world flipped upside down. There was no monster in sight and even after the demigod rose in the video, their face couldn't be clearly identified. All she saw was a mass of dark hair with pale, olive skin on the demigod. But Annabeth recognised the blade they held anywhere. Riptide. That demigod in the video was her Seaweed Brain.

"This is the part he uses his powers!"

A mortal in the video exchanged a sentence with Percy. His classmates were all pressed into a corner where the recorder was at the back of the group. A flood of water tore down the door close to where the fire was and doused the fire completely. The mortals shrieked, jumping at the water hitting their knees.

"Annabeth? You look terrified."

"I am," Annabeth said weakly. "This is a demigod we're talking about. It's the first time we're seeing what they're capable of."

The video followed Percy as he grabbed onto something that cut off the screen and swung out the window. Whoever was recording him ran to show Percy sliding down the pipes along Goode High School's walls and land on the cement ground. He stumbled, falling onto his knees momentarily before he got back on his feet and ran.

"Look this is the part that really freaks me out!" Jessica urged. "No blinking!"

"He's kind of hot," Kayla, said dreamily. "And he's got muscles! You saw how he scaled the building wall."

Jessica was bewildered. "You can't even see his face properly?"

"But I like dark hair and muscles."

"That's like… every other guy in the world," Jessica rolled her eyes.

Kayla shrugged. "Whatever. Demigods are hot."

Percy was still running in the video. His figure was becoming smaller and smaller but it was still clear as day to Annabeth that it was Percy. There was a park behind the school where Percy was jumping over bushes and the person making the video zoomed into him.

Annabeth's whole body burned. She grabbed onto the edge of Jessica's bed to keep herself from turning around and emptying her stomach.

Percy had stopped running. Police sirens echoed and the mortals in the video grew louder in their volume. Percy ran to the edge of a fountain and spun his arms around wildly. His back was to the video: Annabeth wasn't sure what he was doing but he swiped through the air with one hand and immediately she understood it was an Iris-Message.

A police car slammed down the park boundaries and officers piled out. Jessica grabbed Annabeth's arm. Within seconds, the police had their weapons out and pointed to Percy, _her _Percy. Annabeth pinched her arm, begging for this to be a nightmare and nothing more.

Nico suddenly appeared in the video out of nowhere and Annabeth's roommates went nuts. Chloe was the only one sitting behind her, barely reacting to what went on in the video. Annabeth watched in silence as the ground underneath the police visibly shook. A tree cracked and fell to the ground so loudly that the mortals videoing Percy from the classroom all shared a gasp that sounded like a dragon coughing. The police were on the ground. Annabeth couldn't tell what was happening but her eyes widened seeing a police officer inching closer with his gun held high.

Nico lurched into action, grabbing Percy's shoulder and lunging for the shadow of a well endowed tree. They disappeared into the shadows.

"See!" Jessica shook Annabeth violently. "That's the other demigod!"

"I saw," Annabeth said drily. "Seems like he was there simply to help the other demigod get away."

"I wonder they'd ever give _us _some of their powers."

"Kayla, you're the only idiot who wants to snuggle up next to a demigod."

The police stumbled to their feet, wandering around in confusion. The camera ripped away from the scene in the park and moved back into the classroom. And that was when Annabeth saw really what the monster attack caused.

A few of the students sat on the ground with minor burns around their arms and legs. A few others were coughing in the after-effect smoke of the fire. One student was having a panic attack in the corner and their friend was trying to comfort them to no avail. The classroom itself was completely destroyed. Damp ash hogged the floor and nothing except the few desks and chairs close to the students was saved.

The video ended.

Annabeth buried her face in her hands. One breath, two breaths, three breaths. She had to take this slow; she was surrounded by mortals. But at the same time, she was dying to know whether Percy was safe.

Chloe rubbed Annabeth's back. "Hey, you know there's nothing to be scared about, right? The DEP are going to get them and we'll be safe. The demigods are basically just terrorists."

"Except terrorists aren't easy to catch," Jessica pointed out.

"But he was hot."

"Kayla!"

Chloe said, "Apparently the DEP haven't gotten whatever equipment and weapons they keep talking about. Otherwise, they would've caught the demigod. If this happened like a week or two down the line, maybe that demigod would be in custody."

Kayla shrugged. "Whatever. It's really late anyway and I want to go to sleep. Technically, I have a calculus test tomorrow but I wonder if I can get out of it as I did the last one."

Annabeth watched Jessica shut her laptop. Her roommates all filed into their own corners of the room and she followed suit, dropping onto her bed. Scanning the wall next to her bed, Annabeth swiped all of the photos of her and Percy and hid them in her top drawer of her beside table. She was lucky his face wasn't clear in the video but she couldn't take any chances.

"Why are the demigods even so notorious? Why does everyone bother about them?" Annabeth asked Chloe who was laying on her bed on her phone.

Chloe glanced at her from underneath her long lashes. "They're a bit of a symbol for magic, you know? For years, we've all been speculating about the existence of other species. Werewolves, vampires, and all that jazz. Now that we know demigods are real, it makes people wonder what else is. That's why everyone is just dying to know about them."

"Then why kill them?"

Chloe sighed. "Look, I don't agree for the eradication of the demigods. No one is. They're really cool in some ways but they've put us in danger so many times that the government is convinced the right thing to do is wipe them out. Compare it to how we look at rats. Rats fascinate us to the point we test products on them but we hate them 'cause they're gross. Maybe whatever the DEP is doing is for the best."

Annabeth dug her fingernails into her arm. A rat. That was what she had become. That's what Percy had become. A stinking, diseased rat.

She dug through her bag and her hand enclosed around a drachma at the bottom. Annabeth lay in bed long after Jessica had turned all the lights off and long after her roommates had fallen asleep. Her heart spasmed as she waited in the dark, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling above her.

When Annabeth was sure her roommates were deep in their sleep, she stripped the covers off her legs and tip-toed to the bathroom. She locked the door and turned on the tap, chanting the same incantation that started an Iris-Message each time. "Percy Jackson at Camp Half Blood."

Percy's image appeared. He was awake, leaning over his bed with his head in his hands and his eyes closed. Rather than the school hoodies Annabeth had been seeing him in for the past few weeks, Percy wore the familiar orange camp shirt and a loose pair of pyjama pants.

"Percy," Annabeth breathed out in relief.

Percy snapped up. He sat up straighter and almost laughed when he saw her. The large smile spreading across his face made his eyes crinkle. "Annabeth. Oh gods, Annabeth, you're safe."

"They took a video of you," Annabeth whispered. "It's all over the Internet. I'm pretty sure the students who were in class with you have reported your name to the DEP."

Percy's smile dropped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I… wish I could turn back the clock. We should've gone back to camp when Jason came around to warn me."

"You're fine, though? Did you get hurt?"

"No."

"I'm coming back to camp tomorrow," Annabeth said, running a hand through her curls. "I don't want to take the risk of being here knowing that the situation is getting out of hand."

"Can you do me a favor before you come?"

"What is it?"

Percy swallowed and Annabeth saw the ball in his throat bobbing. "Before the attack happened, the DEP had already given me a notice that I was on their list of suspicions. I didn't tell you because we couldn't use phones and Iris-Messaging had to be well timed so the mortals didn't see. The DEP know about my mom and Paul. I'm terrified that whatever happened to me urged them to find my parents and interrogate them. Could you check on them to make sure they're okay? I didn't Iris-Message in case they're around the DEP associates."

Annabeth nodded. "I'll do it now."

Percy smiled at her but it was forced. Dark bags decorated the area underneath his eyes. His shirt hung loosely on him and Annabeth could see the way his body hunched forward. He had a bad habit of rubbing the back of neck whenever he was stressed and now his hand wouldn't leave that area.

"Don't worry, Seaweed Brain. I'm sure your mom's alright. I'm going to meet with her now. She must be worried out of her mind."

"Thank you. I love you. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow; come back to me safe."

"I will. You try to get some sleep, okay?" Annabeth swiped her hand through the Iris-Message. She took a moment to steel herself before throwing the door open and stepping out.

Annabeth made her way to her bed with her arms outstretched in front of her to find her way in the dark. Her knees collided with the frame and she muttered curses under her breath. She grabbed a knife hidden inside her bag and left it under her pillow while she searched for her Yankee cap. Usually, she'd prefer her drakon sword but it was too big to conceal so she left it in her cabin at camp.

"Annabeth?"

She froze.

It was Jessica, sitting up in bed. In the dark, her brown eyes were penetrating. "What are you doing?"

Annabeth glanced at where her hands were, holding the handle of her closet. "Just looking for something. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Jessica's silhouette shifted. "Nah, it's good. You just surprised me. Are you going off to meet the boyfriend?"

Alarm bells went ringing in Annabeth's head before she remembered the countless number of times she snuck out after curfew and Jessica covered for her. "Yeah. I hope that's okay."

"It's always okay," Jessica grinned. "I'm all up for a romance story in real life. That is, if we get to meet the boyfriend one day. You haven't told us anything about him."

"For the best," Annabeth told Jessica. "So it's more natural when you finally meet him."

"Bullshit."

Annabeth smiled in the dark. It wasn't surprising the large weight on her chest that had been lifted the second she knew Percy was safe in his cabin at camp. The mortals could do all they wanted but the demigods were regrouping. The DEP's time of reign was going to come to an end. "Cover for me?"

"You got it, girl. Just don't come back pregnant."

Annabeth snorted. She dumped her backpack over to empty it before hiding Jessica's view of her dumping her knife and Yankee cap in it. Saluting her choppy-haired roommate giggling on her bed, Annabeth pushed the door open and stepped out of the dormitory.

*** oOo ***

Annabeth knocked on the Jackson residence door but no sound came from inside. Of course, what was she expecting? It was in the middle of the night; there's no way Sally would be awake and Paul had work the next morning. She rang the doorbell, bouncing on her toes for someone to hear her and open it. A couple tries later, Annabeth gave up with the bell and knocking completely and drew her knife. She inserted its tip into the lock and bounced it around the way she'd learned how to do it at camp. Lock-picking wasn't a lesson but with the Stolls running free, it was an essential skill.

The Jackson residence door swung open and Annabeth proudly sheathed her knife. She shut the door behind her and the wood creaked under her sneakers. The living room was completely dark and Annabeth had to run her hands along the walls to find the light switch.

Her stomach dropped to her feet.

The room was completely trashed.

The couches were turned upside down and the cupboard drawers were thrown open. Plates and bowls laid on the ground in a mess of debris and curtains had been ripped off their hangers violently. Annabeth's hands quivered as she made her way further into the apartment and came to a stop in front of Sally's bedroom door.

Annabeth didn't even bother knocking before she kicked the door open.

A window whistled as wind blew into the room. Clothes were strewn around and entire pieces of furniture were moved around and flipped. The pillow was torn to simple strips of cloth and its inside completely tarnished. The window, through which wind was entering the room, was shattered and its sill had fallen halfway down to the ground.

Something red glistened underneath Annabeth's foot. Blood.

A sob made its way up Annabeth's throat. She clenched her fists, desperately hunting for clues but it was clear what had happened: someone had taken both Sally and Paul and searched through their entire house.

"Sally," Annabeth screamed. She didn't care if anyone heard her. The damage had already been done. She knew Sally was gone but she yelled out her name again and again.

Annabeth fell, tripping on some planks off the deconstructed bed. She bit her lip this time, rocking on the ground. She cursed the DEP, cursed the gods, cursed the fates. Someone could kill her now and she would thank them. For the first time, Annabeth was struck by really what a big threat the DEP were. The demigods could run back into camp but their parents couldn't.

Oh gods, Percy.

Annabeth lifted herself off the ground.

She had to get to camp. Now.

* * *

**I got more reviews on my last chapter than any other chapter! Thank you so much to everyone :)) I might not reply to the reviews since I'm crazy busy but seriously I love them so much!**

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**~Ami**


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